As climate change issues gather speed local authorities are pivotal and well placed to have maximum influence. Local authorities are community leaders, working with other public sector stakeholders via the Local Area Agreement and Local Strategic Partnership to deliver the community's vision as laid down in the sustainable community strategy.
Under new performance management frameworks, local authorities, with partners choose 35 key targets. Over two thirds nationally have chosen the climate change targets, the delivery of which they will be judged on. These cover key areas such as CO2 and recycling.
Local government needs big projects to deliver these goals. One topical area is CHP. Recent DEFRA reports indicated that by 2010 over 10% of the UK's electricity would come from CHP. This efficiently generates heat and power in a single process reducing CO2 emissions compared with traditional power stations.
CHP uses various fuels such as biomass, waste wood and even processed domestic refuse as the fuel. Even though new plants are technically advanced in the UK there may still be a stigma associated with living in the vicinity of such a plant and a "nimby" attitude prevails. But who better to address such concerns than the local council? - the body democratically mandated to govern at local level and involved in all manner of local consultations and debates.
To meet stringent new EU targets for waste, emissions and the government's own targets, local government has to rise to the challenge of climate change. CHP schemes are a key tool to do just that.
Michael Grimes is a Partner and leads the firm's waste management team; Stephen Cirell is Head of Local Government.
Eversheds are running an event on CHP schemes in July 2008. Further details may be obtained by emailing localgovernment@eversheds.com.
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